Thank you to everyone who reviewed! We are so glad you liked our last chapter. And a ton of you were looking forward to what's about to happen... So stay tuned! It's back into the ring we go.

CHAPTER 7

Outside Fighter
boxer that prefers operating from long-range

Lucy fiddled with the clasp of her earring as she was led along a well-lit corridor. The tiles magnified the sound of her heels on the ground as she followed the man in a suit to her assigned room. It reassured her, made her feel more confident.

They halted in front of one of the doors, and the man took a key off his keyring, unlocking it before he opened it for her. She nodded in thanks, a blush coating her cheeks. His expression was stoic, but she could see in his eyes that the idea of what she was about to do in there amused, or even thrilled, him.

Lifting her face proudly, she waited until he closed the door behind her and the click told her she was locked in. She took a deep breath before facing the room.

She was not greeted by what she had imagined.

The room itself, of course, was classily equipped and pompous in its entirety.

However, the person awaiting her - while definitely Salamander - was not exactly awaiting her.

Curiously, she stepped closer.

He was lying on the large bed, silk sheets messily wrapped around his naked body. Snores, sometimes soft, sometimes putting a bear to shame, told her he was completely asleep.

His hair was dishevelled, falling over his eyes while a few unruly locks had slipped out of the short tail he normally had his hair tied into. Previous experience with Gajeel told her that walking right up to him and poking him awake wasn't necessarily the best way to get his attention, but she couldn't help but draw near to just look at him.

Reluctant to wake him up when he looked so peaceful, Lucy sat down at the edge of the bed next to him. The weight of her shifted against the mattress and made it sink down an inch. The springs creaked, and she felt rather than heard his breath catch.

It seemed Salamander was a light sleeper despite his raucous snores, and when she looked at him, his dark eyes were open. Drowsy with incomprehension, they stared at her, his face relaxing around the edges and eyes sliding shut. Lucy heard him mumble something, but she couldn't quite make it out. So she leaned forward and prodded his thigh with a finger, causing his attention to sharpen on her.

It was slow, but sense seemed to return to him and he leaned up, his body curving as he supported his weight on his elbows.

"Can't find the bathroom again?" he asked after a long second, his voice low and husky with the remnants of sleep clinging to him.

Lucy smothered a smile at his sly question, but she could tell he was wondering why she was here. Again. And this time in the room she was supposed to be in.

"Oh, no," she replied with a smile. "This time I found it all on my own."

"Then, why are you…" he trailed off, and she watched the last of sleepiness leave him as he blinked. "Oh - did you change your mind after all?"

His eyes fixed on her with a mixture of amusement, just a spark of lust, and… disappointment?

Lucy opened her mouth, and closed it again. Heat spread across her cheeks once more, leaving her brain nearly bloodless if her inability to come up with a reply was anything to go by.

"No!" she finally managed, scandalized.

He sat up some more, and she was glad the sheets covered his private area, because he probably wouldn't have bothered to cover up for her. The quizzical look was back in his eyes, along with a considerable amount of apprehension.

"Then why are you here?" he asked again, brows furrowing. "You found me here on purpose, didn't you?"

Lucy hummed in acknowledgement, but just crossed her legs, leaning back on the bed with her arms keeping herself up. His eyes followed her, appraising and with just a hint of wariness. She didn't know how to explain why she was here. Not in a way she thought she could make him understand at least.

She didn't respond at first, instead catching sight of a blue tail whisking back and forth underneath the bed. A smile spread over her face and she made a happy noise in the back of her throat when she saw that familiar feline, tucked just out of sight.

Now that she took a closer look at him, Lucy noticed something she hadn't the last time. There was a white spot at the end of his tail Lucy didn't recall from the time she'd spent with him as a child. As if it had been dipped into paint. Or something worse.

Following her line of sight, Salamander frowned when she began to bend down. He surged forward as if to stop her, but Lucy was out of reach. "Wait, he doesn't like-"

She scooped up the cat, who made a startled noise at first over the sudden change in perspective, but settled down in Lucy's arms. Salamander's eyes went saucer-like at the way his cat was no doubt melting in her arms.

His shock became palpable when a loud purring began to fill the room.

"Aw, isn't he a sweet little guy?" she cooed, scratching him just behind his torn ear in the way she remembered he liked. At least Happy seemed to remember her by the way his tail curled around her arm and flicked against her skin.

Salamander just stared, unable to understand why his cat was suddenly behaving in the arms of a stranger.

"What's his name?" Lucy asked. Of course she already knew, but he wasn't aware of that detail.

For a moment he seemed reluctant, but then his shoulders sank in surrender.

"Happy," he told her, eyes watching her every reaction. He sounded surprised. "He likes you."

"I think he does," she said with a smile, letting the cat sniff her hand, biting back a proud smile when he started licking along her thumb with his rough tongue. Happy was old, now, but still the cat she remembered.

Salamander seemed unable to wrap his head around the situation.

"Happy," she repeated, fixing him with clever eyes. "Like a team from a comic book. Happy and…?"

Fisting his hands into the silken fabric, Salamander exhaled slowly. "Again, huh?" he asked, something like exasperation in his tone. "You know I'm not gonna tell you my name. What's the deal, anyways?"

Lucy shrugged. "Just curiosity, I guess," she said with the ghost of a smile, looking up at him through long lashes. "You interest me."

Maybe this was a way to justify her continued visits: a bored, rich young heiress who was trying to break out of the daily trot of her boring life, focusing her interest on a lost boy.

She knew just how to play that part.

But at the same time, she wanted him to like her. She wanted him to trust her, and not for the purpose of investigation, but because she was trying to break through to the boy she had once known. Because she liked him, too.

Her hope of him recognizing her was slim, but she irrationally held onto it.

"Do I," he laughed dryly. "Is this the sort of thing you normally do to pass the time?"

Lucy walked around the room to slide onto the other side of the bed, tucking her legs up under her dress to snuggle Happy on her lap. Her lips quirked up at the corners and she looked over at him. "I know you're just as curious about me, as I am about you."

He blinked, brows furrowing down and his mouth opening. His protests were silent, but unvoiced. It seemed he didn't know how to respond without lying, and that was a point in her favor.

"What makes you think you interest me?" Salamander asked, his tone just a little sharp.

It was enough for Happy to peek his head up and look at him, before settling back down in Lucy's hold. There was a sudden edge to his voice, but it was low, a roughness to it that had her heart skipping a beat.

"If I didn't, then you wouldn't have helped me yesterday," she breathed out.

It was a struggle to keep her gaze where it belonged, but every time he breathed, the sheet seemed to slip around his hips just a little more. Especially now that she had moved to the other side of the bed, the silk didn't have a good purchase on his skin.

"Maybe I just wanted to know what you were doing so far away from where you belonged?" Salamander shot back. His voice was hard, but there was a hint of truth in what he was asking. He knew she had been lying then, and no doubt he knew she was keeping things from him now.

Lucy set Happy on the bed between them. The cat looked a little surprised at the new environment, pawing through the silken sheets to nudge against Salamander's hip.

"That's still interest, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

"I suppose," he grunted, automatically moving to stroke Happy between his ears. The gears were turning in his head, she could almost see it as he pulled a face and kept his gaze on the cat. It was a little amusing, really.

Stifling a small laugh, Lucy tried to catch his attention. She cleared her throat, smiling when he looked back up at her. His expression held some of the hostility she had seen when she had stumbled upon him for the first time.

"I'm Lucy," she told him softly, watching his eyes widen in surprise. But his body remained tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "It's okay, don't worry. You don't have to tell me yours. I got it."

This seemed to do the trick for now.

"Good to know, I guess," he said finally. "I got a feelin' you wanna stick around."

"I can be stubborn like that." Lucy gave him a soft smile, one that had him frowning. His hands curled around his cat, stroking down his back so he leaned back, pawing at the air near his fingers.

Salamander fell silent, his lips pressing together into a worried line that had her following his averted gaze.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked, swallowing around the sudden knot she could feel tightening in her throat. There was something he wasn't saying, the caution boiling in his eyes was enough to cause a flag to raise.

"You ask a lot of questions," he answered, his voice quiet but guarded.

Oh.

Lucy could see why that would worry him. A woman he had never met before taking a sudden and focused interest in him? In the world he lived in, that probably never meant anything good. This was not like a story she would see in a pulp fiction novel on the shelves of a gas station. Rescue from a life like this was impossible. No matter how deep Lucy's wallets ran, she couldn't buy him his freedom. As much as she wanted to, even she knew that wasn't going to happen. The thought probably hadn't even crossed his mind.

No doubt he was thinking about the consequences of her interest in him.

Hesitant fingers covered over his scarred knuckles. Both of their hands rested over Happy's fur, and she felt his gaze on her without having to look.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," she apologized. Lucy peeked her gaze up at him, deciding a little bit of straightforward honesty would probably get her further than half-truths.

Like Gajeel, he seemed to have a sensor for bullshit.

"You remind me of a friend I had a really long time ago," she confessed quietly. "You both have the same smile."

His eyes shot up to meet hers.

They were a lot more vulnerable all of a sudden, noticing her honesty for what it was.

His hand twitched lightly beneath hers, and he licked his lips.

She had moved closer than she thought she had, invading his personal space. Her face was inches from his, and her breasts almost brushed against his bicep.

"I do?" he asked, his voice low and rough.

Transfixed by his dark eyes, all she could do was nod. Her hand squeezed his, gently, and the motion made her breath hitch. They lingered like this, maybe a few seconds, maybe just the blink of an eye.

Then Salamander pulled back, only a bit, and the spell broke.

"I'm not interested in being a ghost," he told her slowly, his voice still husky. "You don't know my name, but I do have one, and I'll never pretend to be someone I'm not."

His voice was steady, eyes burning into her. He wasn't being unfriendly, but he left no room for protest. Lucy took a deep breath as she regained her senses.

"He's not a ghost." Lucy blinked rapidly, almost a little shocked at how thoroughly he was able to ensnare her. Her voice was quiet, her breath tangling like string between her ribs. He made it hard to think, which in her position, was not necessarily a good thing.

She didn't have it in her yet to tell him he was who she was looking for.

"He's not a ghost," she repeated, more to herself than him.

No, he wasn't. At least not yet. Her friend was still there in the fire that glinted in his eyes, his steadfast will, and the sparks of kindness she saw buried beneath layers of bitterness.

If she could, she would peel each layer back to the boy who was alive with hope. He was still there. Lucy stubbornly felt it to the core of her being.

"Besides, I don't waste my time on ghosts." She turned his hand over between hers, lifting it off the cat. Lucy was a little surprised he allowed her to take his hand in hers, but she supposed it was only because technically she had purchased his time. The thought made her a touch angry, but none of it was directed at him.

Laying his hand on her lap, she turned his palm up towards the ceiling, lightly tracing the lines of his hand with her index finger. It was calloused, and his hand jerked just a little in her lap when she gently glided her fingertips over the curve of his thumb. His fingers flexed right before he breathed in sharply through his nose.

"What're you doing?" he asked, his voice a low rumble in their dim room. Salamander was leaning forward, eyes focused down on their hands. He licked his lips again, his shoulders heaving as a breath escaped him.

Lucy bit back a smile, focusing instead on his open hand. "When I was little, I had an accident. For a while I was afraid to do much of anything, but one of my friends from my class came to visit me. She had a book on palm reading."

He didn't say anything, so she went on.

Tracing the long line that reached from the pad of his thumb to the base of his index finger, Lucy dug into her memory.

"You're going to lead a long life," she told him, and he pulled a face. She thought she heard him mumble an oh, great and felt the sudden need to conjure a smile up onto his face. "And you'll have three children."

He snorted, then, pointing at the line she had traced last with his free hand.

"You read that there, huh? I don't think that line is very trustworthy." He tapped against the palm of his hand. "What's it say? Girls or boys?"

Lucy hesitated.

"Two boys, one girl," she said then, grinning.

He looked back at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You're shit at this," he informed her, and she gasped as if offended.

"I might be a little out of practice," she conceded, not letting go of his hand.

"What does this one mean, then?" he asked, suddenly more enthusiastic. Dreaming up impossible futures had the ability to make everyone a little weak, after all. He tapped another, rather long line, curiously peeking at her.

"This one means you'll be rich," she made up on the spot. "And that you'll get a lifetime supply of… what's your favourite food?"

"Chili con carne."

"...Chili con carne," she finished, holding back laughter.

He grinned at her, a genuine, bright grin that lit his face up, and for a moment she forgot how to breathe.

It had been too long since she had seen it.

"You didn't make any of this up, did you?" he asked, still grinning.

"I would never," she answered with a cheeky twinkle in her eyes. "I would never forget even one of the hundreds of different ways to combine and interpret the lines on people's hands that I learned over fifteen years ago."

"Especially not the Chili con carne line, right?" Salamander asked, leaning over where she was rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand.

"No," Lucy replied with grave seriousness. "That one is extremely important."

"Well yeah," he returned, expression deadpan. But his lips twitched at the corners. "It's about food. So of course it is."

"Okay," Lucy stuck out her tongue and blew a small raspberry at him, "so maybe I'm not the best at reading palms."

His broad shoulders rolled as he dropped down to the side, propping himself up. He kept his hand in hers, letting her turn it over to trace over his knuckles. There was some light bruising over them.

"I can see why you liked it when you were little."

Happy nudged his way under Salamander's arm, claiming the crook under his arm and chest as his own. The little cat was not used to such fine things to lay on either, and he was taking advantage of Lucy's kindness like the thief he was.

"Oh yeah?" Lucy finally released his palm so she could fish through her purse. "What makes you say that?"

"Thinking up a bunch of impossible futures, it's kind of fun," he replied. Curious, he watched her turn her purse over and dump the contents out on the bed.

She huffed when she didn't find what she was looking for, instead scooping everything and dropping it back into her handbag.

"I was looking for my cards, that colleague of mine gave me a tarot deck. I thought she slipped it in my bag," Lucy muttered.

Of course instead of the deck, it appeared said colleague had unloaded a box of condoms into Lucy's purse with the thought she should be safe. Good ol' Cana, looking out for her friends.

What would she say now if she realized where Lucy was and who she was with...

"I was thinking I would bring them with me next time, but you seem to think my palm reading is just a game," Lucy said with an air of offense.

Salamander raised an eyebrow, looking at her as if she had grown a spare head. "But isn't it?"

Lucy reached over and snagged his opposite hand, ignoring his surprised yelp when suddenly the arm supporting his head was yanked free. His face flopped into a silken pillow with a muffled noise, but Lucy hummed at him.

"I think your lines are true, you'll have a long life, have some children, become rich, and eat all the spicy food you could ever hope for," Lucy chided him.

He looked up from the cushion he was partially smothered in with an eye roll. For whatever reason, her optimism wasn't bothering him like it normally would. Lucy was clearly new to the ring, the inner workings and how this place ran. He had never seen her at any of the other matches before, and he thought hers was a face that would stand out.

He had wondered before, if the people paying for these fights knew what happened to its fighters. He supposed it was willful ignorance, if anything. You couldn't feel bad about something you did not know, and why would you bother to find out? Even if it was not a hard guess.

"If you really think that, maybe you're not that smart after all," he told her, a humourless smile spreading across his face before he let his head drop down again.

A number of emotions worked over her face, but he couldn't quite pinpoint any of them.

"I do think that, though," she finally answered, her tone a lot more serious. "And if you don't believe it, I'll believe it for you."

Huffing, Natsu turned to look at the ceiling.

It sure was a nice idea she had planted in his mind. But it was nothing more than that: a dream. He wondered when he had become so cynical. Where was the boy who had struggled and resisted?

He'd grown up, he told himself, and had accepted that it was no use resisting.

There was no way out. Only death.

But Lucy didn't believe that, did she?

Hope was a funny thing. It was a seed that never really died even when the grounds it was buried in were dry and arid. All it took was a single drop of water to moisten the soil once again.

He felt a touch against his bicep, this one was feather light and send a small shock of electricity jolting down his spine. Unlike all the other ones he had felt before, this one was gentle and almost welcome. Lucy's face filled his vision, bending over him, the dull light casting a soft and gentle hue over her golden hair.

"Hey you've got a fight tomorrow right? Why don't you get some rest while you can?" Lucy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, the motion catching Natsu's eyes, "I've seen the place they sit you in, and I've got you with me for a while yet. So why don't you take the time and nap or something?"

He stared at her this time with genuine effort to understand her. This woman was definitely a confusing one. She bought his time to… what? Talk to him? It was rare, but sometimes he had clients who bought his services to talk to him about their lives. He didn't really understand it himself, but he guessed they wanted company.

This was weird and different though.

"What exactly are you going to do while I just sleep?" Natsu raised an eyebrow at her. Lucy's face only brightened at the question, her hand diving back into her purse. She pulled out the thickest book he had ever seen. He saw it fall out of her purse earlier but he hadn't questioned what it was for.

She had seriously brought reading material.

Natsu didn't know if he should feel insulted.

Falling asleep with another person in the room, someone he did not really know at all, was a risk though. But for some reason, he was sure he had nothing to fear with Lucy. She was no threat.

And not only because the most menacing weapon in her possession right now was a thick book.

Maybe he should really grasp the chance.

The bed was soft, the sheets smooth, and with her here he would not be woken by the rough hands of his caretakers. Until she left, he could sleep as much as he wanted to.

It was a really tempting thought.

Tempting enough to give in to it.

"All right," he complied, wiggling himself into a more comfortable position. When he looked at her again, she was holding the book in front of her face like a shield.

"Cover up," the book squeaked, and as he looked down at himself he noticed the blankets had come off entirely.

Really, she was a weird one. Others paid for a view like this.

Nonetheless, he draped the expensive blanket all the way up to his chest. It really was soft.

"You're safe now," he informed her in amusement, watching her warily lower her block of a book to peek over the rim.

Funny. He felt quite safe, too. It wasn't something he experienced often, or at all, really. Not since he had been a little boy. Only sometimes, with Happy purring reassuringly against his chest and a muggy blanket draped over him did he come a little close to the feeling he so often craved.

His eyelids felt heavy.

Lucy sat beside him, already entranced with whatever it was she was reading. He sneaked a few glances at her every now and then, but found it became harder to move his eyes with every passing second.

For the first time in a long time, he fell into a deep sleep.

SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! See ya next Saturday!

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